SANAA, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi militia said they shot down a spy drone of the Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen's central province of Marib on Tuesday.
"Our defense force downed a U.S.-made spy drone of the enemy in the al-Wadi district of Marib Province," Houthi-run al-Masirah TV quoted a statement from the militia's military spokesman Yehya Sarea as saying.
The statement came on the third day of a three-day unilateral cease-fire announced by the Houthi militia with the coalition forces, which appears to have been mostly held.
The cease-fire came after coalition warplanes bombed important military and economic targets under Houthi control in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah and the capital Sanaa. The coalition bombings were in response to the Houthis' cross-border missile and drone attacks on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia last week.
The escalation came after the Houthi militia lost strategic areas in the oil-rich provinces of Shabwa and Marib during its fighting against the coalition-backed Yemeni government forces in the past two months.
On Sunday, the Houthis announced a three-day unilateral cease-fire, suspending cross-border missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia and ground battles against the Yemeni government forces, voicing their commitment to a permanent truce if the coalition stops airstrikes and withdraws its forces. ■
